For Akane
by SoulSurvivor
Summary: How far will Ranma go for love? A Ranma - SM Crossover
1. Bitter Choice

For Akane  
A Ranma 1/2 - Sailor Moon Crossover  
by: SoulSurvivor  
  
  
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon ar property of their respective authors and any other given authority by said authors... Namely, NOT ME!  
  
  
  
  
Ranma felt a tear run down his cheek as he held her, his throat still sore from screaming her name. Akane... He never had a chance to tell her how he felt, and now it was to late. He could feel his world collapsing around him as something deep inside withered and died.  
  
'Please... Please don't die...'  
  
*She's not... Yet.*  
  
He jerked up, looking for the voice, before realizing that it was in his head. "Wha..."  
  
*There is so much pain in losing someone you love... Do you want her back?*  
  
"Yes." he whispered, "Yes I do."  
  
There was a flash of light, then he found himself in a darkened room, facing a woman on a throne. When she spoke, it was with the voice he had heard before.  
  
"Do you realize what you've done, boy? Saffron had enough power to give _me_ a challenge, and you, a mere human, tore him apart and survived."  
  
As she spoke, she rose and approached him.  
  
"Even with his transformation interrupted, he had the power of a demi-god at his fingertips, and you defeated him... Hell, you killed him! That should not have been possible."  
  
She waved her hand at a wall and it faded to reveal Akane's face, from the angle, he realized that he was looking at her through his own eyes. He felt his heart tighten in his chest as she continued.  
  
"I can give you the power to heal her you know, to bring her back from death's door. I can give you this, but it comes with a price." Gesturing at the screen, she continued, "For now, my spells will keep her alive untill you make your decision, one way or the other.  
  
At this, he tore his gaze from Akane's face and looked the stranger in the eyes, his voice choked with sorrow, he spoke for the first time.  
  
"What... What do you want?"  
  
She held his gaze for a moment, eyeing him appraisingly before she spoke.  
  
"What I want, is for you to listen to what I have to say. I dont want you to come back later on claiming that I cheated you, or ruined your life."  
  
She paused for a moment, allowing her words to sink in before continuing.  
  
"Over a thousand years ago, there was a place, a kingdom of goodness and light as it were. I am the reason that it no longer exists. Now elements of that kingdom have returned, and are disrupting my plans for your world" She gave him an icy smile as she stepped closer, "That, Saotome-san, is where you come in"  
  
"All of those who serve me have the same fault. They are coerced by spells to do my bidding, and regardless of how powerfull the enchantment, there is always a part of them that fights back. The stronger the will of the subject, the more powerfull the enchantment needed to bind them. The more powerfull the binding, and the less effective they become in carrying out my will."  
  
She chuckled for a moment before continuing.  
  
"You, on the other hand, have a will stronger than all of my generals combined. The binding spell that would hold you would more than likely turn you into an automaton, thus rendering you utterly useless. However, you come ready made with your own chains, chains stronger than any spell I could weave, chains of honor that you wear of your own free will."  
  
As she spoke, she came even closer, stopping only when they were face to face, her eyes boring directly into his.  
  
"My bargain is simple Ranma Saotome. You swear your fealty to me, Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom, on your honor, and in return I will give you the power you need, to bring your precious Akane back from Death's door."  
  
She stepped back and returned to her throne before giving her final shot.  
  
"If you choose to not accept my offer, I will simply leave you as I found you, minus the memory of this encounter, and let nature take its course. I didnt cause her condition, but I can give you the power to heal her. You killed a god to protect her, Saotome. Will you deal with a devil to save her life?"  
  
It say's a lot for his character that he never once considered lying. He would either accept and be dammned or refuse and be dammned but he had no intention of cheating his way out of this deal.  
  
Ranma turned once again to face the image of Akane's face. The more he considered Beryl's offer, the clearer his choice became. She was evil, that much was obvious, and serving her would be a mistake. Plus, the oath she demanded was essentially that of a samurai, binding him by duty to serve her without question.   
  
But that was meaningless when compared to the hell that life without Akane would be. Turning to meet Beryl's gaze, his face became an emotionless mask as he gave his answer.  
  
"Yes."  
  
====================================  
Tbc  
  
====================================  
  
Folks, C&C is most appreciated!  
  
Slacker has agreed to 'take up the slack' as it were on this story. He and I will be consulting on the directions it takes.  
  
SoulSurvivor  



	2. Return Home

This is the officially sanctioned   
continuation to "For Akane." by Soul Survivor.   
You WILL need to read it before this! Or you'll   
get this massive head-ache trying to figure out   
what's going on. Trust me. Find it at the FFML   
Mini-Archive:  
  
http://meridun.tripod.com   
  
Or (hopefully) my homepage:  
  
http://www.angelfire.com/anime/Slacker  
  
Hmmm, sanctioned. Sounds vaguely   
governmental. Oh, well. On with the fic!  
  
*****************  
"For Akane-Chapter 1"  
  
A Ranma/Sailor Moon X-Over  
  
By: Slacker   
Editing: Soul Survivor  
****************  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Excellent." Beryl smiled cruelly. "Now   
brace yourself. This might...sting a little."  
  
"What? What are you talking about? `Sting'?   
NNNNNNEEEEEAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!" Ranma   
started to convulse as black energy flowed from   
Beryl's hand and surrounded his body. Every   
nerve felt like someone had prodded it with a   
white-hot needle. His brain felt like someone   
was examining it with a cutting torch. After   
what felt like hours, the pain stopped, leaving   
Ranma curled on the ground in a fetal ball. As   
Ranma tried not to sob from the pain, Beryl   
cheerfully spoke.  
  
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"  
  
"What...did...you...do?" Ranma whispered   
weakly.  
  
"I gave you the power to save your fiancee.   
I had to...fix a few things in order to do it."  
  
"Like what?" Ranma asked suspiciously.  
  
Beryl continued to smile. Ranma didn't like   
that smile. It showed way too many teeth. She   
ignored his question, too.  
  
"Time for you to return." Beryl began to   
motion with her hands.  
  
"Wait!" Ranma cried as he struggled to sit   
up.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What about Akane?"  
  
"She'll be fine. You have the power   
necessary to save her."  
  
Beryl began to motion with her hands again.   
As Ranma faded out, her heard her say "Oh, yes.   
I'll call when I need you. Be ready."  
  
***********************  
  
Ranma blinked. He was back at Jusendo, and   
Akane was still in his arms. As he knelt, he   
could feel the power Beryl promised. Something   
about it seemed wrong out to his senses, but he   
ignored it. This was the power he needed to   
bring Akane back.   
  
Reaching out with his new senses, he could   
feel her life force ebbing away, unless he did   
something, she had minutes to live, maybe less.   
  
Energy was the key, and energy was the gift   
he was given, the ability to manipulate it at   
least. All he needed to do to save her was to   
infuse her with energy. The question was where   
to get it from.  
  
Casting about, instinctively using his new   
power, he located several possibilities. The   
first and biggest was Jusendo itself, the   
waters carried a mild amount of life force,   
possibly the mold for the curse templates.   
Then there were Mousse, Shampoo, Ryoga, the   
guide and his daughter.... Any or all of which   
would make excellent sources of power.  
  
Blinking momentarily, he banished that last   
thought, writing it up to the stress of the   
moment. Then it hit him. There was one readily   
available source of magic and life force (and   
female life force to boot), one that nobody   
would miss (aside from Kuno and Happosai). The   
curse.  
  
Reaching inside of himself, he took hold of   
it and prepared to give it to her. The question   
was: How to best do it? Then he smiled as the   
perfect method came to him.  
  
Strangely enough, it was Ryoga who kept   
Shampoo from violently interfering as Ranma   
leaned over and kissed Akane for the very first   
time.  
  
As he kissed her, a glow seemed to surround   
Ranma, similar to his usual battle aura, but   
different in an indefinable way. As he   
continued to kiss Akane, the glow grew until   
the group could no longer look directly at it.   
If they had been able to see into the glow,   
they would have seen it appear to flow from   
Ranma to Akane. If they had been able to look   
AT the glow itself, they would have noticed the   
dark threads shot through it. Unfortunately, no   
one had brought welding glasses, so this was an   
impossibility.  
  
Then, abruptly, the glow vanished. As their   
eyes adjusted, the group was treated to a most   
unusual sight. Ranma was unchanged, still   
kneeling on the ground holding Akane. Akane on   
the other hand...was a different story. Her  
hair had lengthened to where it was pooling on   
the ground, and now had a definite reddish tint   
to it. Her body had altered slightly, becoming  
much...fuller. No one would be able to refer to   
her as 'flat-chested' again. But those were   
secondary details. Akane's arms were wrapped   
around Ranma's back, and, from the look of it,   
she was now kissing him back, quite well too,   
if you could judge by the stiffness of his   
pigtail.  
  
******************  
  
Jusenkyo was flooded. The torrential   
rainfall had seemed to come out of nowhere, and   
refused to let up for the entire trip there. A   
male Ranma stood in the rain and watched as the   
others stared mournfully at the sodden mess   
that used to be the cursed training grounds.   
  
When the missing curse had first been   
noticed, he had been swamped with questions of   
how, and he had pleaded his case of ignorance   
so many times, he almost believed it himself.   
Then again, what could he tell them? 'Well ya   
see, there was this dark queen I made a deal   
with and...." Riiight. Like that would go  
over well.   
  
Also, he wasn't sure if Akane would approve   
of what he had promised to bring her back.   
Hopefully, she would never find out.  
  
Besides, she was still getting over her   
shock at her new appearance, though there was   
no way anybody could call her sexless now.   
Hell, Kuno was gonna have a fit when he saw   
her, that was guaranteed.  
  
Ranma could just imagine the look on the   
would-be swordsman's face when he caught sight   
of an amalgam of his two 'goddesses'. Course   
I'm gonna have to hurt him as soon as he tries   
anything. Then again, that would be fun as   
well.  
  
  
Fun... Not gonna be having to much of   
that for a while, he mused What with this oath   
and all. And that brought him back to his   
current dilemma: his oath to Beryl.  
  
Not a simple promise to be broken, but an   
oath taken on his family name. An oath taken on   
his personal honor. Not his father's pathetic   
excuse for honor, not on the name of the   
Musabestu Kakuto Ryu, but his and his alone. An   
oath given to someone he could tell was as evil   
as they came.  
  
As he was sinking under the weight of his   
honor, he sensed a familiar presence behind  
him.  
  
"Hey, Akane."  
  
"Hey, yourself."  
  
He turned to see her standing in the rain,   
as uncaring of it as he was. Even soaked to the   
skin, dressed in his red silk shirt and borrowed   
trousers, she was beautiful. He had always   
found her attractive, especially when she   
smiled, but now...   
  
Whatever had happened had kept all of her   
best qualities, and added on to them with his   
cursed form. Her height was unchanged, but her   
hair now fell to the middle of her back and was   
now a deep scarlet, as if to match her name. (It   
had turned from black with reddish tints to its   
current shade in the space of a few minutes.)   
Her figure was much closer to his cursed form,   
but her face and eyes remained the same.   
  
She shuffled her feet for a moment then   
glanced over to where the others were moping.  
  
"They're not taking it too well, are they?"  
  
"No, they're not..." He muttered, "They   
probably think it's my fault to, don't they." It   
wasn't a question, just a simple statement of   
fact. Ranma had become used to being blamed for   
other people's problems.  
  
She looked at him for a while, her   
expression unreadable, before turning on her   
heel and heading back to the guide's hut.  
  
"We'd better get out of the rain, you don't   
want to die of pneumonia after surviving   
everything else."  
  
"I'll be there in just a sec."  
  
He watched her leave with mixed emotions.   
After their kiss at Jusendo, they had hardly   
spoken at all, neither wanting to be the first   
to take the next step. He knew how he felt, and,   
based on the way she had kissed him back, he had   
a fairly good idea of where her feelings lie as   
well.   
  
The problem was what to do next. Ryoga   
seemed to be to be taking things fairly well,   
even asking him for help getting to Akari's   
house. (Which surprised Ranma to no end.)  
Mousse was ecstatic, of course, at seeing one   
less obstacle between him and Shampoo. Shampoo   
on the other hand.... Well, she hadn't spoken a   
single word since Jusendo, though the glances   
she cast his way were sure to spell trouble.  
  
And for once, he was right. Unfortunately   
for him.  
  
*********************  
Author Note Thingie:  
  
Well, yet another first chapter. That makes   
something like three now. Man, I've gotta stop   
doing these until I actually get a second   
chapter written.  
  
Aaaaanyways, this was written with a   
substantial amount input from Soul Survivor.   
(Like most of the chapter. I love that guy. He   
makes my job easy.)  
  
Here's to actually writing Chapter 2 in a   
timely fashion!  
  
Ja Ne!  
Slacker  



	3. Dilema

For Akane  
Chapter 2  
  
Sorry for the delay, writers block sucks!  
  
-------------------------  
  
Insert Disclaimer here  
  
-------------------------  
  
Rei Hino was worried. She had awoken the night before filled with a sense of foreboding she was at a loss to explain. Fire readings, meditation and prayer had done little to ease her mind, something was up, something new and dangerous, yet something she could not yet identify. What shi did know however, was that the senshi were in terrible danger from a powerfull new enemy, yet, at the same time, there was the potential of a new ally as well. Her fire readings had shown a crossroads, one way was death for them all, the other was victory, an end to Beryl's machinations once and for all. The guardian of the crossroads was a crimson haired girl whos only words still echoed in her mind as she awaited the arrival of her teamates... "Beware the Wild Horse."  
  
---------------------------------------  
  
Somewhere in time, no one can tell for sure, there is a place where time has no meaning, yet at the same time, time means everything... It is known simply as 'The Gates of Time'. Places this enigmatic normally tend to have powerfull guardians and this one is no exception, her name is Meiou Setsuna. Known also as Sailor Pluto, the senshi of timeand at this moment, she was scared.  
  
For as long as she could remember, and that covers a significant period to be sure, there had been a single file of events leading from the fall of the Silver Millenium to the rise of Crystal Tokyo. Everything had gone according to her plans for so long that this change had caught her compeatly flat-footed. Now, instead of a single line following its pre-ordained path, there was a split with two possible outcomes. One had the senshi dead, herself included, Crystal Tokyo never coming to be, and Beryl ruling over all, with an unfamiliar General by her side.  
  
The other showed the senshi alive, living in a slightly altered Crystal Tokyo. The senshi in this timeline were stronger, more powerfull than they had ever been, being influenced and trained by the general who had stood at Beryl's side.  
  
While it was obvious that this general was the fulcrum upon which the whole matter hinged, what was unclear was what influenced his decision, that being obscured by the chaos of the split itself. That something like this could happen worried her, but the most frightening aspect of all was that all she could do was watch.  
  
-----------------------------------------  
  
Ranma, or Obsidian as he was called in what he thought of as his 'night job' was bored. In the three weeks that had passed since he had accepted Beryl's offer, the only excitement had been the wedding disaster (for which he intended to repay Nabiki eventually). Life as a Dark General was actually less stimulating than his average day at school.  
  
It seemed that beryl intended to keep him in reserve, something that irked and relieved him at the same time. When he actually sat down to consider what he had agreed to, he was appaled. Beryl truly ddi intend to conquer the world, but she didnt seem to have any plans beyond that. At the moment, she was busy trying to get enough energy to transfer her troops in significant numbers, while at the same time trying to get her hands on some moon crystal thingie. As for himself, he had no place in her immediate plans, aside from distracting some girls in ridiculous costumes that popped up every so often to interfere with Jadites collection duties.  
  
Twice now, he had been called upon for that particular duty, though why, he had no clue. While strong, and with some interesting attacks, they were abysmally slow, and only one of them had any skill whatsoever in the art. 'And Akane could take that one in her sleep.' Akane... Just the though of her name improved his mood, his lips curved into a wistfull smile as he considered how their relationship had improved since Jusendo, then he frowned as he thought of how she bound him to Beryl.  
  
With his new senses he could watch as her life force slowly bled away, day by day, and while he could always giver her more, he couldnt actually correct the problem. This left him with two options, abide by his agreement with Beryl which gave him the ability to keep her alive, or break his word and watch her die as his power was revoked. As Beryl had explained it, his power was indelibly bound to his oath, and not even she could change that. 'Looks like I cant pull a Pops with this'. Hell, he couldnt even blame Beryl for his current dilema, all she had done was give him a choice, in the end, the decision had been his and his alone... His thoughts were interrupted as an angry and terrified Akane burst through the doorway into his room!  
  
Her face was streaked with tears and contorted with conflicting emotions as she confronted him, but more disturbing were her energy levels; they were almost twice as high as when he had left her at school earlier that afternoon.  
  
"What did you do to me?!" She demanded, her voice still choked with tears, "What am I?!"  
  
Pulling her to him, somethin that would have been unthinkable just a month ago, he held her close until she had calmed. Her story came in fits and starts, and as it did, he could feel his blood run cold.  
  
----------------------------------------------  
  
-Earlier-  
  
The Drama club meeting had gone a little later than expected, with the plans for the next school play, but Akane was more than satisfied with the results. Even Kuno had behaved himself, for this once paying more attention to the play than to her. Of course, the fact that they were doing "Taming the Shrew", the play that he had suggested, may have had something to do with it, that, and whatever Ranma's mother had said to him when she went to see him after the wedding fiasco. Even Nabiki couldnt pry the details of their conversation from him, but whatever had been said had apparently had a great impact on him. Since then, he had stopped challenging her for dates, an whil he still infrequently fought with Ranma, it seemed more like sparring that an actual duel.  
  
'On the other hand,' she mused as he walked her home, 'the overprotective big brother schtick is getting old.'. Her train of thought was suddenly derailed as Kuno hit the ground like a sack of rice, the remains of a bouquet of black roses scattered about his head. 'Kodachi!' The source of the attack jumped down from her perch on the schoolyard wall.  
  
"Now that my bessoted fool of a brother is out of the way, foul harridan, the time has come for you to face the wrath of the Black Rose! Akane Tendo, Red Haired Wretch, your hold on my Ranma-sama ends today!"  
  
Falling into a defensive stance, Akane regarded her opponent warily. While Kuno had gotten easier to deal with after the wedding attempt, Kodachi had gone that much farther off the deep end. The apparent merging of her percieved rivals for Ranma's heart had simply been more than her fragile psyche could handle. And while Kuno ran interferance where he could, her attacks had been getting more and more out of hand.  
  
Ducking a spread of thrown spiked clubs, Akane considered her situation. With Kuno out cold and Ranma at home, she would have no help for this fight, and, while she was confident of her ability to take Kodachi in a fair fight, she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that this fight would be anything but. Her suspicions were confirmed when, while dodging a ribbon strike, she caught a face full of powder and felt her limbs turn to jelly. Desperate, she blocked as best she could yet blow after blow rained down, driving her further and further into darkness.  
  
Slowly, the realization that she was about to die wormed its way into her conciousness, and try as she mightshe could not prevent it. Then, as she lay on the the ground, struggling to avoid Kodachi's coup 'de grace, something in the back of her mind clicked. Instead of rolling to avoid the blow, she lurched forward, and grabbing her opponents leg, she 'fed'. She was dimly aware of Kodachi's scream as strength flowed into her, orgasmic in its intensity it filled her with life, healing her wounds as if they had never been. When she regained her senses, it was to a pervading silence. All around her, the students faces were masks of shock and fear as they backed away from her, some slowly, others simply turning tail and running.  
  
Confused, she cast about, trying to discern the cause of their fear when here eyes finally lit upon Kodachi's still form. The gymnast was sprawled on the floor like a discarded marionette, her features pale and drawn into a rictus of pain and terror... If she was breathing, it was to shallowly to tell, in all, she looked dead, It took but a second for Akane to realize that she had been the cause of Kodachi's current condition, the looks of mute horror on the faces of the few remaining students being all the confirmation she could ever need... She Ran.  
  
tbc  
  
-----------------------------------  
  
I will try to get more chapters out soon.  
  
Soul Survivor 


End file.
